Inu Ga Daisuki! (I Love Dogs!)
by ofhustlersandastronauts
Summary: aka The Misadventures of Inu-chan and Sendoh Akira. What do you get when you pair a basketball prodigy with an extremely active shiba inu? Trouble, of course, lots of trouble!
1. Chapter 1: Ohayo, Inu-chan!

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! First off, _the pairing is sorta kinda accidental._ It's not the main focus of the fic anyway, bc the star of the story is our beloved shiba, Inu-chan (yes, that is the best name I can come up with). Sendoh is just the supporting actor, hahaha. Also, this is my first attempt at humour. AND, I don't have a dog so all Inu-chan's antics are how I think dogs behave. (Is it possible for dogs to be OOC? HAHA)**

 **Constructive reviews would be welcomed, and enjoy the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Slam Dunk, but Inu-chan is mine! :D**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Ohayo, Inu-chan!**

Sendoh Akira rolled out of bed and wiped his chin. He'd been drooling; his pillow a fluffy mess of dried amylase.

UGH.

He flipped his pillow over. Drool be gone!

It was 6 AM on a Sunday morning. To others, it was a cruel, ungodly hour. But to the star player of the renowned Ryonan basketball team, this was routine. After all, you don't become an ace player overnight. Training and conditioning was key!

Stretching, he pulled open his curtains. Sunlight streamed into his room. Simply perfect for a Sunday morning.

He dressed quickly, then spent a long while spiking his hair up. After all, he wasn't Sendoh Akira without his trademark hairstyle.

"Hey, good looking." He winked at his own reflection, a cheeky grin lighting up his handsome face.

A quick breakfast - if you could call a bite of an apple breakfast - and he was out of the house, pumped up for his Sunday morning jog. He felt like something good was going to happen, and his intuition had yet to fail him.

"Good morning, Mrs Tanaka!" Sendoh smiled at the elderly lady who lived next door.

"Morning, Sendoh-kun. Could you take Inu-chan for a walk? He's been active lately, and I really need to see a doctor about my knee…" Mrs Tanaka said, motioning to the shiba chasing its tail behind her.

"Of course, Mrs Tanaka, it's no problem at all!" Sendoh dazzled the old lady with his charming smile. "Come here, boy!" He whistled, trying to get the shiba's attention. Inu-chan perked up its ears, hearing Sendoh's whistle, and bounded over playfully to the Ryonan ace. "Rest well, Mrs Tanaka, I'll be back with Inu-chan in an hour!"

"Arigato, Sendoh-kun, you're incredibly helpful."

"Let's go, Inu-chan!" Sendoh jogged off slowly, motioning for the shiba to follow him. It complied, barking happily.

"Wait, Sendoh-kun! Put Inu-chan on a leash!" Mrs Tanaka called out, but her young neighbour had disappeared with her dog. _Kids these days…_

Sendoh jogged to the town park with Inu-chan at his heels. It was nice to have company. His best friend Koshino Hiroaki wouldn't budge an inch off his bed to join him, no matter how much he persisted.

Mrs Tanaka wasn't lying when she said that Inu-chan was active. The shiba rushed off in random directions in the park, and Sendoh panted to keep up with the furry ball of energy. He'd decided that chasing Inu-chan was harder than marking Shohoku ace Rukawa Kaede, in a basketball game; and its energy rivalled that of Sakuragi Hanamichi, the unpredictable rookie who was on the same team.

"Okay, Inu-chan, take five." Sendoh bent over, as Inu-chan simply started chasing a butterfly, barking madly. Sendoh watched the dog, a grin creeping onto his face.

 _So simple and carefree, Inu-chan._

Then he heard it. The familiar dribble of a basketball against the ground.

He'd stopped right next to the park's basketball court without realising it. The court itself was hidden behind a wall of hedges, so he couldn't see who was playing basketball. Thinking that it was his rival, Rukawa, Sendoh grabbed Inu-chan and instinctively ducked down.

Holding the struggling shiba close, the peered between the hedges...and saw a girl bouncing a basketball, attempting a lay-up. Her long brown hair was knotted into a messy ponytail, and her victory smile as the ball swished through the net was simply captivating.

Sendoh couldn't help but ogle at the mysterious girl, as Inu-chan squirmed in his arms, trying to get away.

"Shhh, Inu-chan. She'll notice us." Sendoh cautioned the dog. For a split second, Inu-chan stopped moving, as if it understood Sendoh's words.

Sendoh returned his attention to the girl, who was now attempting a jump shot. She dribbled the ball, then gracefully leapt into the air. She flicked her wrist, releasing the ball, letting it sail in the air…

The next thing Sendoh knew, Inu-chan had broken free from his grip, chasing after the loose ball that had rebounded off the hoop, barking excitedly as if its life depended on it.

"Inu-chan!" Sendoh was up and running, chasing after the dog _and_ the ball, much to the astonishment of the girl. His basketball instincts were kicking in, and he retrieved the orange sphere easily. Inu-chan saw that he had the ball, and adopted a playful stance, its tail wagging madly.

"Sorry, miss. Here's your ball." Sendoh handed it over with his most pleasant smile. Inu-chan was restlessly prancing around at their ankles, seemingly wanting to have another go with the ball.

She looked up at him in awe. "Sendoh-san..."

"Haha, you know my name?" Sendoh instinctively touched his hair. Still spiky.

"Kawaii, inu-chan!" The girl was already kneeling down, stroking the excited shiba. Of course the dog loved the attention, and barked excitedly, its wagging tail a blur.

Sendoh felt a pang of jealousy towards Inu-chan. The shiba revelled in the girl's attention; its black eyes seemed to mock him.

"I'm Akagi Haruko, by the way."

"Akagi…" Sendoh's eyes widened. "Of Shohoku?" An image of the gorilla-like captain of Shohoku, Akagi Takenori, popped up in his head. He had a sister?

"Yes." She nodded. "My brother's the basketball team captain, surely you must know him, Sendoh-san." Haruko said, while rubbing Inu-chan's belly. "Aren't you cute, Inu-chan?"

 _That damn dog._

Of course Sendoh knew Shohoku's imposing captain. Ryonan already had a couple of practice games against Shohoku, and it was impossibly hard to get past Akagi, who guarded the basket with his life. Even Sendoh, the media-proclaimed basketball genius of Kanagawa, had succumbed to Akagi's famous blocking move, the Flyswatter.

But again, who knew that gorilla of a captain (sorry, Akagi-san) had a pretty little sister?

"Wanna play?" Sendoh realised that the ball was still in his hands, and absently dribbled it.

Haruko shook her head, all her attention on Inu-chan. "Go ahead,"

As annoyed as he was at the dog, Sendoh loved the familiar feeling of the grooves of a basketball in his hands. Skillfully he maneuvered to the hoop and shot a few hoops, adding in a couple of flashy moves here and there.

Haruko was actually paying more attention to Mrs Tanaka's shiba, rubbing in between its ears.

Inu-chan barked. _Want her attention? Time to take it up a notch, Sendoh._

Haruko looked up to see what Inu-chan had been barking at, and Sendoh took up the cue, dribbling the ball at a steady rhythm. Shooting a quick smile in Haruko's direction to make sure that she was watching, he charged up to the hoop.

 _So fast!_ Haruko watched Sendoh in amazement.

Inu-chan let out an exhilarated woof as the backboard shook from the sheer force of Sendoh's dunk. _Atta boy!_

"So...much better...than Rukawa-kun…" Haruko breathed, the image of Sendoh's reverse slam dunk forever etched in her mind.

Sendoh smiled at the Shohoku freshman, vying for her attention. She gazed at him, her eyes full of wonder, watching the Ryonan sophomore's fluid movements, momentarily forgetting about the shiba on her lap.

A brief image of him and Haruko, laughing and holding hands as they ran along the beach, with an excited Inu-chan barking along madly, flashed in his mind as their eyes met.

"Sendoh-san, you really love basketball…" Haruko said in a small voice as the lanky boy approached her.

His reply was instantaneous, truthful, sincere. "Yes, I do, Haruko-san."

 _ **to be continued...**_


	2. Chapter 2: Inu-chan, Wingman!

**Author's Note: I don't know if anyone is actually reading this (probably not bc it's a possible SenHaru, so I'm trying to tone down that pairing a bit since I want SenSen all to myself nyahahaha) but here's another chapter, and it was pre-written, so there are still traces of SenHaru in it. For the next chapters, I'll tone down the SenHaru until it disappears completely. This fic was originally supposed to be about Sendoh and Inu-chan, after all.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Inu-chan, Wingman!**

The sun was just rising; its rays piercing into the awakening sky. Kanagawa was slowly becoming alive, though a sole runner powered his way through the deserted streets, panting slightly as he pushed himself to meet his target of a 5 kilometre jog before the world woke up.

Rukawa Kaede didn't like running, simply because it wasn't half as exciting as basketball. Even so, he knew he needed to increase his stamina if he wanted to last in a competitive high school basketball match. Shohoku High didn't have an extensive training regimen like Kainan High and Ryonan High had; and those schools had the best players in the district.

Rukawa had decided, if he wanted to become the best high school basketball player, he needed to be on par with the incredibly fit Kainan and Ryonan players. Hell, he was going to be much better than all of them combined. Even if he had to sacrifice his precious sleep.

7 AM, Sunday morning. Rukawa made his way to the town park, hoping to finish his run there. A few joggers were just starting out, warming up; and a couple of elderly people taking a morning walk at their own leisurely pace. No one else was pushing their cardio as much as Rukawa had. A glow of accomplishment welled up in his chest, but he wasn't going to stop there, obviously. Later he was going to the school gym to practice his plays; he was going to be the best in the whole of Japan, and no one will be able to catch up to him!

"INU-CHAN! WAIT UP!"

Before Rukawa could register the oddly familiar voice, a golden streak zipped past, followed by a lanky spiky-haired boy.

 _Sendoh…?_

Sendoh Akira cursed under his breath as he fought to keep up with the manic shiba. _Should've put that damn dog on a leash…_

Rukawa sweatdropped, still going at his own pace. _So that's how he gets his cardio._ His eyes trailed his ultimate rival, who was chasing after the excited shiba.

Inu-chan stopped abruptly, causing Sendoh to trip over it and crash onto the ground. And of course the playful dog had to jump onto the boy and relentlessly lick his face!

 _Glad that I'm more of a cat person._ Rukawa jogged past the tangle of the dog and the boy, still panting, trying his best to disregard the whole commotion.

"Getoffme." Sendoh sat up, gently pushing the dog aside. He instinctively touched his hair. Still spiky. He'd spent half an hour that morning styling his crowning glory. Inu-chan wagged its tail and let out an excited bark.

"You're fun and all, but you better behave. Otherwise you're not going to be my running buddy anymore." Sendoh stared intently into the shiba's black eyes.

 _Have I been a bad boy?_ Inu-chan sat down and cocked his head to the side.

"Don't you use that sad puppy dog face on me." Sendoh reiterated sternly.

Inu-chan started whining as its ears drooped, sensing Sendoh's strict tone.

But the Ryonan sophomore was barely paying attention to the shiba as he spotted a lithe figure entering the park's basketball court, with a basketball in her hands. A grin crept onto his handsome face, as his heart started doing somersaults. The moment he saw her, he was already on his feet, cradling the whining shiba in his arms.

"Good morning, Haruko-san!"

Haruko gave him a shocked smile; he'd literally come out of nowhere. "Morning, Sendoh-san. And hello, Inu-chan!" She cooed over the struggling shiba in Sendoh's arms. A knot of worry flickered onto Haruko's face,seeing Inu-chan's discomfort.

"Are you going to play basketball, Haruko-san? I haven't seen you in a week!" Sendoh said in a chipper voice, holding on tighter to a squirming Inu-chan _just in case_ it decided to go rogue and run all the way to the next prefecture.

"Why don't you let Inu-chan go, Sendoh-san? He looks uncomfortable."

The moment Sendoh did, Inu-chan knocked the basketball away from Haruko's hands, yapping happily. The loose ball rolled into the bushes, and Inu-chan raced after it.

Sendoh speechlessly stared down at Haruko. Usually he'd drop a suave line, but he couldn't think of anything to say.

"Are you okay, Sendoh-san?" Haruko realised that his blue eyes were piercing onto her.

"Uh...yes?" His reply came out more like a question than an answer.

Inu-chan popped out of the bushes, rolling the basketball with its head. Haruko's face lit up when she saw the dog, and knelt down to stroke it.

"Who's a good boy?" Haruko praised excitedly.

 _Me, I'm the good boy._ Inu-chan's tail was wagging lightning fast.

Sendoh shoved his hands into his pocket, watching Haruko petting _that damn dog_. "So...Haruko-san. Are you gonna play basketball?" _As if it wasn't obvious the first time he asked._

Pant, pant, pant. Woof!

Sendoh wished that he was Inu-chan, instead. It was definitely stealing all of Haruko's attention from him.

"Actually, I promised Sakuragi-kun that I'd help him practice today, but he's not here yet." Haruko stood up and looked at him.

Sakuragi Hanamichi was the unpredictable Shohoku rookie with the shockingly unusual red hair. A starter for the Shohoku team, though he'd just learnt how to play basketball, Sendoh remembered how the freshman had challenged him when Ryonan had a practice match with Shohoku. Sakuragi's abilities weren't up to par yet, though who actually knew his limits? The redhead still had so much to learn, yet his debut had been incredibly surprising, like he'd been playing for years, although he made rookie mistakes. Sendoh was dreading, yet looking forward to the day when Sakuragi's full abilities were unleashed.

"That's nice of you to help him." Sendoh said with a smile.

Meanwhile, Inu-chan started rolling the ball away from the pair, using its head.

"Inu-chan. Come back here." Sendoh said calmly, his blue eyes still glued to Haruko. Of course Inu-chan, the epitome of rebellion, didn't heed his words, starting off quicker with the ball. Sendoh wasn't up to chasing after the shiba again.

"Let it be. He won't go far." Haruko smiled, watching the shiba.

"But your ball…" Sendoh was already a few steps after Inu-chan.

"He's a good boy. He'll bring it back."

Sendoh stopped in his tracks and turned around to face a smiling Haruko, who was now sitting on a bench.

"So…" Sendoh took a seat right next to her without being asked. "You like basketball?"

 _You idiot, Akira. Why don't you ask her if the sky is blue?_

"Ever since onii-chan started playing it in elementary school." Haruko replied softly, her eyes trailing Inu-chan's movements, playing with the basketball. "He'd teach me the basics, then in junior high, I joined the school team…" Sendoh noticed that her face was turning red. He wondered what she was thinking about…

"When did you start to play, Sendoh-san? You're so good." Her eyes transfixed directly onto his, and on reflex, he smiled and laughed dismissively at the compliment.

"Elementary school, actually. I grew up in Tokyo and there's some fair competition there." Sendoh explained. "Like this guy, Kitasawa. He was much better than me."

Meanwhile, Inu-chan was having the time of its life with Haruko's basketball, though it was difficult to control (since Inu-chan didn't have hands) and the ball kept rolling everywhere, inching away from Sendoh and Haruko. It tapped the ball with its head with a little too much force, and with the momentum, the ball started to roll.

The ball kept rolling, rolling...until it hit a boy's foot.

"Hey, you fetching the ball, buddy?" The boy bent down and picked up the ball. Inu-chan crouched in a playful stance, barking and wagging its tail. Its black eyes followed the orange ball as the boy bounced it.

"You want it? Go get it!" The boy lobbed the ball high into the air, then ran off.

Inu-chan took off after the airborne ball, barking excitedly, never losing sight of it. It didn't heed where it was heading to, and leaped up to catch the ball…

...landing straight onto Haruko's lap, as the ball hit Sendoh's head with a loud smack. Inu-chan's momentum caused a domino effect as Haruko knocked back into Sendoh, and they both tumbled onto the ground. The ball, halted from its flight by Sendoh's face, rolled off to a stop nearby.

"Sorry, Sendoh-san!" Haruko's face easily turned red as she found herself intimately close to the Ryonan ace.

 _She looks even better up close….time, please stop._

"It's okay." Sendoh's laughed it off. His face was smarting from the force of the ball. He sat up, touching his hair. "That's the second time I've fallen down today…"

Inu-chan trotted up to them, rolling over the rogue basketball that had caused all the trouble. The two of them were still sitting on the ground, and Sendoh rubbed his left cheek, which had taken the greatest hit from the ball. He could practically imagine bruises marring his face…

"Are you okay?" Haruko reached out to examine his throbbing cheek.

 _Time, please, please, please stop._

"HARUKO-SANNNN!" A loud voice interrupted the moment.

"Sakuragi-kun?" Haruko whipped her head up to see the redhead towering over them.

Inu-chan barked playfully at the new addition. _Hello, new friend! Let's play!_

Sakuragi ignored the shiba; he was too focused on the sight in front of him: the love of his life with that idiot basketball genius from Ryonan. He clenched his fists, his jaw taut. "What are doing with _that guy_?"

"It was an accident." Sendoh got to his feet, and helped Haruko up. He shot a look at Inu-chan, who simply cocked its head to the side innocently.

 _Me, I'm a good boy, right, Sendoh?_

"Get your hands off her!" Sakuragi yelled. Sendoh took a step backwards, holding his hands up. A fight was what he wanted to avoid, especially with the energetic Sakuragi. Rumours said that the Shohoku rookie was good at fighting, and Sendoh wasn't one to test the truth of said rumour.

"I'll beat you, Sendoh!"

"Then train like hell, Sakuragi."

"I will!" Sakuragi gritted his teeth, and his face was so red with anger that it was almost comical. Steam was practically coming out from his ears!

Sendoh took that as a cue to leave. "C'mon, Inu-chan, let's go." The shiba barked playfully, bouncing around his ankles. "See you around." He turned and walked away, leaving the Shohoku freshmen to their business. He really, _really_ wanted to look back and grin at Haruko, but Sakuragi's angry vibes were emanating towards him, and that made him uncomfortable.

Inu-chan, as usual, took the lead, Sendoh lazily trailing behind the dog. "Good day, right, Inu-chan?"

Inu-chan barked once in response.

"Though that ending kind of sucked. Didn't know that Sakuragi and Haruko were a thing." Sendoh looked at the shiba, now trotting by his side. Inu-chan looked up to Sendoh with its black eyes, as if sympathizing with the Ryonan ace. But then it rushed off excitedly, barely heeding Sendoh's words.

It _was_ a dog, after all...

"Plenty of fish in the sea, I guess." Sendoh looked up to the clear blue sky. "Oh, it's perfect weather for fishing. Wanna come with me, Inu-chan?"

Said dog, of course, was already a mile away, barking excitedly.

"INU-CHAN, WAIT UP!"

 _ **to be continued.**_


	3. Chapter 3: Inu-chan has an Injury!

**Chapter 3: Inu-chan has an Injury**

6:30 AM, Sunday morning. As usual, Sendoh Akira was already awake for his routine morning workout. Shoelaces tied, hair spiked. Ready and raring to go.

But first, he needed his running buddy.

Sneaking into his neighbour Mrs Tanaka's backyard, Sendoh hoped that Inu-chan, the golden shiba was outdoors. And there it was, asleep on the porch, still immersed in its doggy dreams. Mrs Tanaka, who was always up early to tend to her garden, was nowhere to be seen, probably enjoying some shut-eye in her comfortable bed.

Sendoh thought that Mrs Tanaka wouldn't mind him 'borrowing' her dog for a couple of hours. After all, he was the one who walked her dog, since the elderly woman had bad knees and couldn't walk very far for very long.

"Inu-chan. Let's go for a walk." Sendoh poked the shiba's belly as he whispered. The dog flinched slightly at his touch, but kept on sleeping.

 _Poke, poke, poke._

"Good morning, Sendoh-kun." Mrs Tanaka greeted him with a smile, opening the back doors.

"Ah, good morning, Mrs Tanaka!" Sendoh practically leapt backwards and plastered on his most innocent smile.

"Ready to walk Inu-chan?" Mrs Tanaka arched an eyebrow, a knowing look in her eyes.

For the past two Sundays, Sendoh had been walking Inu-chan, or more accurately, chasing the shiba all around Kanagawa at the crack of dawn. Why did he still do it? Well, reasons unbeknownst, apart from the fact that Sendoh didn't have his own dog at home.

Now he was caught in the middle of an attempted kidnapping of Mrs Tanaka's shiba! Said dog was still fast asleep, a barrier between the teenage boy and his elderly neighbour.

"Well, if you don't mind, Mrs Tanaka," Sendoh laughed nervously, touching the back of his head.

"I would prefer it if you had Inu-chan on a leash." Mrs Tanaka held a rainbow-coloured leash up for Sendoh. "It's easier to control Inu-chan that way." The neighbours' gossip about a shiba and a boy wreaking havoc in the area recently led her to believe that it was Sendoh and Inu-chan. After all, Inu-chan was a playful young dog, a bundle of energy that she couldn't keep up with. Letting her young neighbour take Inu-chan for walks was a good way for it to channel its energy, rather that keeping the poor shiba in the yard.

"That's a good idea, Mrs Tanaka!" Sendoh took the leash from her.

Inu-chan slowly lifted its head up, still groggy from sleep, when it felt a slight tugging at its collar. Sendoh was already attaching one end of the rainbow leash to Inu-chan's neck, and wrapped the other end around his wrist, so that he wouldn't have to hold on to it all the time. Proud of his innovation, Sendoh grinned at Mrs Tanaka, who nodded her permission for him to take Inu-chan.

"Walkies!" Sendoh gave the leash another tug to make sure that it was intact. Inu-chan stood up on all fours, albeit reluctantly.

Sendoh took off at a leisurely pace, with Inu-chan in tow. So the pair made their way slowly to the town park, Sendoh leading for the first time since Inu-chan was restricted by the leash. Sendoh's mind started drift off, as he wondered what it would be like if mermaids exist. Maybe he'd meet one the next time he went fishing…

The Ryonan ace was too wrapped up in his imagination that he thought that he was imagining some whining from behind him. _Mermaids probably communicate that way_ , he thought, vaguely remembering something about dolphins and sonar waves, that to him, oddly sounded like a shiba's cry. _Mermaids would probably have dolphins as pets too..._

Inu-chan suddenly stood its ground, abruptly sitting down - as Sendoh walked ahead, his end of the leash around his wrist getting more taut as he went further, before being pulled backwards and falling flat on his backside.

Wincing at the pain in his rear, Sendoh glanced back at Inu-chan, silently cursing in his head. Inu-chan was resisting the pull of the leash, sitting in the middle of the pavement! The lanky boy stood up and rubbed his backside, checking himself for injuries - he'd gotten more of it trying to walk Inu-chan, than playing basketball. Once he was sure that everything was intact, he stooped down to check on Inu-chan.

"What's wrong, boy?"

 _Whine_. Inu-chan put its head down. _Whine, whine._

* * *

Fukuda hadn't been up this early lately to visit the basketball court at the town park, since he'd made it onto the Ryonan High starting line-up. But he'd promised to meet up with his street basketball friends - the ones he'd played with when he took a break from the school team for assaulting Coach Taoka (the old man deserved it, since he played favouritism, geez). So there he was, walking with no less than a thought to play some good basketball that mellow Sunday morning.

"Inu-chan. Inu-chan. Inu-chan."

Of course Fukuda recognized that voice. It commandeered authority on the basketball court, yet now, it sounded child-like. A side that Fukuda never knew about his talented teammate, the media-proclaimed genius, Sendoh Akira. He finally spied Sendoh's spikes, kneeling next to a golden shiba, tugging the leash every time he muttered the dog's name.

Fukuda couldn't help but feel intrigued at his teammate's actions. He didn't know much about Sendoh off-court, thought he had a feeling that the guy was one of the eccentric ones, the type that he didn't find himself associating with regularly. The Ryonan power forward watched Sendoh's actions for a little while more, yet the dog didn't budge one bit. It lay there, unmoving, as the clueless Sendoh kept tugging at its leash.

Fukuda couldn't take it anymore; he had to intervene. "What are you doing."

Sendoh looked up at Fukuda and grinned his trademark smile in greeting, before a frown replaced it. "Inu-chan won't walk and I don't know why." He gave another tug on the rainbow leash to illustrate his point, and Inu-chan let out a reiterating whine.

Fukuda regretted that he'd initiated a conversation with Sendoh, but someone had to step in and stop the animal abuse. Sendoh glanced at Fukuda hopelessly, painting an almost innocent look on his face. For some reason, Fukuda knew that Sendoh wasn't _that_ innocent. Feh.

With a sigh, Fukuda knelt down next to the spiky-haired boy and the dog, wondering what he'd gotten himself into.

"First, stop pulling on the damn leash." Fukuda snatched the leash away from Sendoh. Since it was still wrapped around Sendoh's wrist, the two boys got tangled up in a rainbow mess as Inu-chan whined softly, almost ignoring them.

"Oh, this goes there." Sendoh wound the leash over and under then under again, somehow wrapping his arm to Fukuda's leg in the process. "Oh." The rainbow mess was getting more complicated as Sendoh's misguided attempts bound the two boys together even in an awkwardly intimate position.

"Idiot." Fukuda muttered, five minutes later, once they'd gotten themselves untangled from the leash and from each other - after he made Sendoh stop wriggling around by using his Blank Death Stare. Sendoh touched his hair, making sure that his spikes were still intact. Inu-chan's whines were now getting louder, which Fukuda quickly picked up, ignoring his teammate.

"He's hurt."

Sendoh's expression deepened in worry. What was he going to tell Mrs Tanaka? "Is he going to be okay?" He couldn't bring an injured Inu-chan back, otherwise Mrs Tanaka would probably ban him from walking Inu-chan ever again!

Fukuda was already examining Inu-chan, ignoring Sendoh's question. He worked gently and swiftly, like a professional. Sendoh was about to ask another question when Fukuda spoke up, diagnosing Inu-chan's problem.

"He has a thorn in his paw." He announced monotonously, holding the offended paw.

Sendoh gasped so dramatically that Fukuda guessed if the guy wasn't brilliant in basketball, he'd probably be the star of the school's mediocre drama company.

Fukuda held out Inu-chan's injured paw for Sendoh to see, eliciting another dramatic gasp. Sure enough, there was a large black thorn wedged between the toes of its front paw.

"Was it limping earlier?" Fukuda inquired in a grave tone that sent chills down Sendoh's arms.

Sendoh didn't say anything; he'd been dragging the shiba around while he was daydreaming about mermaids, that he didn't notice that Inu-chan was hurting. Fukuda's silent stare compelled him to own up. "Well, he was being a little slow this morning, usually he runs around like mad." Sendoh laughed to lighten the mood, but promptly turned it into a cough when Fukuda raised an eyebrow at him. "Anyway. Can you take the thorn out?"

Fukuda turned his head away, now inwardly kicking himself for approaching Sendoh and his dog. He was already late for his street game. Couldn't the idiot do it himself? Heh.

"Please, Fuku-san." Sendoh was doing it again, that hopeless-yet-innocent face.

Fukuda finally gave in, turning his immediate attention to the hurting shiba. "Hold Inu-chan so that it doesn't get away." He instructed. Sendoh complied, gently pulling Inu-chan into his arms. The dog offered no resistance, its whining receded.

"Be careful that it doesn't bite you." Fukuda said, taking Inu-chan's injured paw to assess the damage. Sendoh's eyes bulged comically at the idea of his favourite running buddy trying to bite him, but nodded fervently in understanding.

Luckily, the thorn was only wedged in partially, and Fukuda decided that he could pluck it out without hurting the poor shiba too much.

"Is it bad?" Sendoh broke the silence. Fukuda wished that he would keep quiet, so that he could focus on his task.

"I'm going to pull the thorn out." Fukuda said in his usual bland manner. Sendoh quickly shut his eyes, still cradling Inu-chan in his arms.

"Tell me when it's over." Sendoh closed his eyes so tightly that his nose was scrunched up, too.

Fukuda sighed at his teammate's antics, wondering why he was a genius on-court and an idiot off it. He returned his attention back to Inu-chan's injured paw, and easily plucked the offending thorn out, and threw it away. Once the pain was gone, Inu-chan stopped whining instantaneously.

"Are you done yet?" Sendoh, still with his eyes clamped shut, hadn't noticed that Inu-chan had stopped whining. The shiba was now wriggling in his arms, wanting freedom. Fukuda sighed and walked away immediately. Once Sendoh sunk into the relative quietness, he opened his eyes to see Fukuda already at the end of the street.

"Hey Fukuda!" Sendoh rushed up to his teammate's side, with Inu-chan still his arms.

Fukuda briefly stopped when Sendoh had caught up, wondering what else Sendoh had to say.

"Thanks for helping Inu-chan. You could be a doctor, you know, but for dogs - a _dog-tor_ …" Sendoh laughed as his own joke. Inu-chan barked once, as if in approval.

Fukuda simply stared at Sendoh, his face stoic. _This guy is ridiculous…_

Sendoh stopped laughing when he noticed that Fukuda didn't even react to his lame joke.

"Just take him to the vet, to be on the safe side." Fukuda advised solemnly.

"Right. " Sendoh made a mental note to tell Mrs Tanaka. "Thanks again, Fukuda." He grinned his award-winning smile in gratitude.

Fukuda promptly left without a word. He was now terribly late to meet his friends, and he hated the thought that they'd probably started off without him.

As Fukuda left, Sendoh glanced at Inu-chan's injured paw. It looked fairly normal, though there seemed to be a little redness and swelling where the thorn had penetrated. At least it wasn't bleeding...

"Let's just go home." Sendoh said to the shiba, looking directly into its big black eyes. "I think your paw needs a little rest."

Sendoh put Inu-chan on the ground, since it was struggling so much. It pranced happily around his ankles, though it limped slightly when it used its injured front paw.

"Don't push the injured paw, buddy." Sendoh had taken charge of the leash again, this time, heading home, their usual Sunday adventure cut short.

* * *

Sendoh was lying in bed that night, counting mermaids, when he suddenly remembered something he had forgotten.

In sixty seconds flat, he flew down the stairs, much to his mother's astonishment, sprinting next door to bang loudly on Mrs Tanaka's door before he lost his train of thought. The elderly lady opened the chain in confusion when she saw that it was only her young neighbour, and not a rampaging murderer on the loose.

"Mrs Tanaka I'm sorry but I forgot but Inu-chan hurt his paw this morning and he has to go to the _dog-tor_ because Fukuda says so and I have to go back to bed because Taoka-sensei wants to see me first thing in the morning tomorrow and he'll kill me if I'm late so goodnight!" Sendoh explained himself in one breath, bowed to his knees and was gone in a heartbeat, before Mrs Tanaka could say anything.

The elderly lady just smiled and shook her head at her young neighbour's behaviour (how could his hair still stick up that way this late at night, too?). She'd noticed that Inu-chan had a limp after they had returned after their walk that morning - which had been shorter than usual - and had called the vet to set up an appointment for a check-up.

As she closed the door, she saw Inu-chan standing in the hallway, its head cocked aside in interest - Sendoh's loud knocking had summoned it from the kitchen, where it had been enjoying some late night kibble.

"You have the best adventures with Sendoh-kun, don't you, Inu-chan?"

An excited bark. _Definitely!_

 ** _to be continued..._**

 **A/N: Took a while to update heheh. Say hello to Fukuda, future _dog-tor._ Though he'd probably work in the morgue. Hope Fukuda isn't OOC, bc I've never written much about him. Sendoh seems so silly next to a serious Fukuda. Reviews would make me happy!**


	4. Chapter 4: Inu-chan, the Hero!

**Chapter 4: Inu-chan, the Hero!**

"Akira, you have a visitor!"

Sendoh Akira sighed. He had just returned from one of Coach Taoka's increasingly intense practices, and was tired to the bone. He was about to dive into his warm, comfortable bed, too! His mum really had the worst timing ever. Sendoh left the room, promising his bed that he'd be back, and trudged downstairs, wondering about his mysterious visitor. Sendoh thought that it was probably Hikoichi, wanting to interview him about the kind of hair gel that he used to keep his hair upright throughout the day. Well, that was a secret that Sendoh would never tell, and Hikoichi was probably better off in the journalism club, rather than the basketball team.

Mrs Tanaka, his next door neighbour, smiled at Sendoh as the sixteen-year-old appeared in the living room. Sendoh's mother was pouring out cups of hot tea.

"Hey, Mrs Tanaka." Sendoh greeted the elderly lady with a smile. He was relieved that it wasn't Hikoichi.

"Evening, Sendoh-kun. Saori, no need for tea, my brother will be picking me up soon." Mrs Tanaka said. Sendoh's mother just smiled as she set the empty teapot aside.

"Please have some, Mrs Tanaka. We don't see each other often enough." Sendoh's mother said. She turned to her son. "Akira, Mrs Tanaka is going to Tokyo for the weekend, so someone needs to look after her house."

"And that someone is me." Sendoh caught on quickly, reaching for a cup of tea.

"I'll have to leave Inu-chan as well, I hope you can keep it company." Mrs Tanaka said, smiling at Sendoh. Inu-chan was Mrs Tanaka's dog, a playful shiba that Sendoh walked on the weekends.

Sendoh was barely listening, as he carefully squeezed some lemon juice into his tea from a lemon slice that his mother had conveniently prepared on the tea tray. He was focusing his entire attention on squeezing every drop of juice from the meagre lemon slice, that he comically stuck his tongue out, like a little child.

"You don't mind staying overnight at Mrs Tanaka's, right?" Mrs Sendoh looked over to her son, throwing a sharp gaze. She knew that her son had the attention span of a nut, unless he was playing basketball.

Sendoh sucked the last of the juice from the lemon slice, savouring its sourness. "No problem." He thought that it wasn't much of responsibility, after all - it was just sleeping over at Mrs Tanaka's house, take care of Inu-chan and maybe water her jungle of plants, if he remembered.

"That's good!" Mrs Tanaka got to her feet and slid on a pair of studded Gucci sunglasses. "I'll be back on Monday afternoon, then." Mrs Tanaka's sudden change of demeanour shocked Mrs Sendoh, and she stared at the elderly lady, who was now full of energy. Mrs Tanaka headed to the front door, followed by Sendoh's mother, who was still recovering from her shock.

"Are you leaving right now?" Mrs Sendoh asked Mrs Tanaka with an incredulous tone in her voice. As if on cue, a car honked impatiently from the road.

"That'll be my brother. Thanks so much!" Mrs Tanaka practically skipped to the waiting Lamborghini, bundled her Louis Vuitton luggage into the almost nonexistent boot of the car and hopped into the leather-covered interior. The supercar sped away with a loud roar of the engine, dramatically leaving a cloud of dust.

Sendoh finally appeared next to his mother at the doorway, with his own cup of lemon tea, steam curling into his face. "Tea's still hot. Oh, Mrs Tanaka's gone?" He asked absent-mindedly, gently blowing the steam away.

Mrs Sendoh just glanced at her son. "She left her house keys with me. You should go over after dinner, and bring your overnight things with you."

Sendoh nodded, sipping his tea too quickly, and burnt his tongue.

After a wholesome homemade dinner, followed by an hour of being lectured by his mother - " _Remember to check all the doors and windows, and don't forget to brush your teeth!"_ \- Sendoh finally set off for Mrs Tanaka's house with a overnight bag in hand.

"If you need anything, your father and I are right next door!" Mrs Sendoh called out for the whole street to hear, as she waved her son off at the front door.

"Yep!" Sendoh was already on his way, waving back at her.

In the short trip to Mrs Tanaka's house right next door, Sendoh wasted no time to lock the front door once he was inside. He'd never been inside Mrs Tanaka's house before, so he took a while to soak in his surroundings. The decor was traditional: tatami sprawled the living room, with minimalist furnishings throughout the house. A miniature bonsai stood on a mantel in the hallway, completing the traditional style. Also in the middle of the hallway, sleeping on the wooden floor, was a snoring shiba inu, Mrs Tanaka's dog and Sendoh's running buddy: Inu-chan.

Poking the shiba's head a couple of times to make sure that it was fast asleep (it stirred, then rolled over to the other side, still snoring), Sendoh wandered the expanse of the house, wondering where he should sleep for the next couple of nights. Mrs Tanaka didn't leave any explicit instructions for him anyway, so he supposed he could sleep anywhere in the house, in Mrs Tanaka's bed or next to Inu-chan in the middle of the corridor.

Nothing in the house particularly struck his attention, though he could tell that Mrs Tanaka definitely had an affinity for plants - there was a potted plant in practically every room, even the bathroom, in addition to her jungle of plants out in the yard. Sendoh even found his neighbour's miniature cactus collection tucked out of harm's way in one of the anterooms that led to the den.

Sendoh entered the den, passing by the miniature thorn jungle, making sure to be wary of the tiny cacti. The den was Westernized, which contrasted to the traditional Japanese furnishing of the rest of the house. There was a black leather couch against the wall, right opposite a top-of-the-line television. A bookcase boasted both English and Japanese literary work, and a shaggy grey rug covered the wood-panelled floor. Sendoh decided to sleep in the den and set down his bag near the couch. There were a few gardening magazines on the glass coffee table, which glistened under the soft yellow lighting.

 _Yep,_ Sendoh thought, _this is the only room in the house that isn't in the ancient past._ A vinyl record player was by the bookcase, but Sendoh tripped over a miniature rope toy, probably Inu-chan's, before he could go over to explore.

"Gah, even when Inu-chan isn't here, I still get hurt." Sendoh checked himself for bruises. There was still one from last week, on his knee, when he had also fell down walking Inu-chan.

With nothing else to do, Sendoh settled in for a quiet night. Pulling out his maths homework, the dashed through the problems, then picked up the television remote, flicking through the channels. He finally settled on a game show where the contestants were trying to suck lemon juice from the fruit slices, laughing out loud whenever the studio audience did.

Eventually, his exhaustion from that day caught up with him, and he fell asleep, sitting upright, the television watching him instead, his maths homework strewn all over the rug.

* * *

Inu-chan perked up its ears. Someone was snoring. Mrs Tanaka occasionally snored, but she didn't sound like a person choking to death. Letting out a Great Big Yawn, Inu-chan stood up and went off to investigate.

The hallway and the kitchen were as bright as ever, and Inu-chan sensed a foreign scent in the air. It was distinctly different from the earthy scent of the plants, or even traces of Mrs Tanaka's Chanel No 5 - this had a male, musky air to it. And Inu-chan could even recognize who it belonged to: the slumbering boy on the leather couch in the den, his handsome face illuminated by the glow of the television, where it was now showing a group of girls flouncing around in candy pink outfits.

Said boy, his signature spiky hair now limp, was the source of the choking snores and musky scent.

Sendoh Akira, Inu-chan's best friend.

Inu-chan, of course, had no idea why the sixteen-year-old was sleeping in his mistress Tanaka's house. It had been sound asleep in the middle of the hallway when Mrs Tanaka had tiptoed past with her luggage and huge sunglasses. The shiba didn't even know that its mistress was gone for the weekend. But all of that didn't matter to Inu-chan, because Sendoh was here, and that meant tons of fun running freely all around Kanagawa.

The clock on the wall showed 2AM as Inu-chan gently nudged its head against Sendoh's leg.

Once. Twice.

Sendoh grunted, flopping his arms around, subconsciously annoyed by the little disturbance by his leg. Then he suddenly faceplanted on the seat of the couch, his breathing slow and even. Inu-chan barked softly, hoping to wake Sendoh up.

A loud crash jolted Sendoh out of his slumber. Inu-chan sprang away, its senses alert.

"Inu-chan!" A sleepy Sendoh was disoriented, momentarily forgetting that he was at Mrs Tanaka's house. "What was that noise?"

Inu-chan had trotted out to the hallway, itching to investigate. Sendoh stumbled after the shiba in the partial darkness, the only source of light being the glow of the muted television, stepping all over his maths homework.

Sendoh followed Inu-chan out of the den, past the cactus room and into the brightly lit hallway. "I hope it's not a thief."

Inu-chan had its ears perked up, listening intently for any noise. A scratch and a crash from the back of the house sent it running and yapping excitedly towards the source of the commotion. Sendoh followed the shiba without thinking much, and was surprised to find himself face-to-face with a masked robber.

"Oh." Sendoh was definitely wide awake now, his heart racing into overdrive as adrenaline filled his bloodstream. Inu-chan wasn't doing anything but making a racket loud enough to wake the whole neighbourhood.

"Get out of my way!" The intruder had his whole face covered, with the exception of his eyes. He was dressed in black from top to toe. He shoved Sendoh aside roughly, hoping to injure him. Sendoh fell back onto the ground with a loud thump.

"Hey! Thief!" Sendoh quickly regained his senses and went after the thief. He grabbed a spatula as a defensive weapon as he went through the kitchen in pursuit of the masked intruder. Sendoh felt that the intruder seemed to have planned the heist, since he seemed to know what he was doing. Inu-chan raced inside after him, still barking loudly.

The thief weaved his way through the house, heading for the den. Of course, he wasn't just any petty thief wanting to make a quick buck out of nothing. He was paid to do this, and Mrs Tanaka was a target. Rumour was it that she kept an antique jewelry set somewhere in the house, that cost millions of dollars in the black market. The intruder had been planning the break-in since a month ago, and he'd picked this exact night, knowing that Mrs Tanaka would be away. He'd planned everything meticulously, just overlooking two minor but important details: the presence of Sendoh and Inu-chan.

The intruder knew that he hadn't much time, so he took a gamble and headed to the room where it was most likely where Mrs Tanaka had kept her jewelry: the den. The exact room where Sendoh had been sleeping earlier, where his maths homework was still strewn all over the floor. Also the room where its only access was through the cactus anteroom.

Inu-chan, still barking madly, whizzed after the robber, and tackled him to the floor as the robber entered the cactus room. Both of them fell to the floor in an awkward position, barely brushing the tip of the nearest cactus. Inu-chan sprang to its feet and pinned the intruder to the ground, still barking loudly.

 _Should've aborted the plan when I saw that guy,_ the intruder thought as Inu-chan stood over him, growling aggressively. The intruder was aware that he was surrounded by cacti, with a rabid shiba on top of him.

"Don't move!" Sendoh yelled, holding out the spatula.

The robber wasn't planning to. It was already dangerous enough, and he racked his brain to get out of the place free and alive. He spied something from the corner of his eye...

"I'm going to call the police. Inu-chan, just hold him down." Sendoh threw an aggressive gaze at the intruder. Inu-chan growled some more. Sendoh made his way quickly back to the main hallway, already choosing his next move.

Sendoh's mother Saori suddenly burst onto the scene with her husband in tow. "Akira! Where are you?"

"Here, mum. There's a thief in there, dad. We've got to call the cops." Sendoh stated, his voice level.

"The other neighbours already did." Mr Sendoh said. "Inu-chan was barking a little too loud, and someone saw the intruder entering the house."

"Oh, Akira, are you okay?" Saori held her son's face, as a couple of neighbours appeared into the house, holding baseball bats as weapons.

Manic barking, loud yelling and a loud crash came from the anteroom. Sendoh wrestled himself away from his smothering mother and rushed off to check on Inu-chan. More neighbours rushed in after him, all wearing their nightclothes.

Inu-chan's barking was now uncontrollable, as Sendoh found the mess of cacti practically everywhere in the anteroom. He didn't want to imagine what had transcended between Inu-chan and the thief, with the cacti around them, but it seemed that the shiba had prevailed. The intruder was now trapped under one of the tables that held some of the cacti, covered in thorns.

"Someone make that dog shut up!" The intruder yelled, a tremor of fright in his voice.

"Inu-chan, come here, boy." Sendoh whistled, motioning for the shiba to come over. Inu-chan bounded over happily, proud of its handiwork.

The neighbours set to grab the intruder out of his trap, being careful of the cacti. And as if on cue, the police arrived on the scene, to apprehend the intruder.

"Ah! You're on the wanted list!" One of the cops announced as he removed the thief's mask. "Boss'll be happy we got you. No more trouble in this area, hopefully."

"Just get me away from that crazy dog!" The intruder yelled, as another policeman handcuffed him. Inu-chan cocked its head aside, staring at the intruder. Sendoh knelt down and patted the shiba's head fondly.

The intruder was arrested for breaking and entering, and was brought away in the police cruiser. The neighbours dispersed, back to the comfort of their own beds, after the momentary action. Sendoh was left in the middle of the road with his parents and Inu-chan.

"That was brave of you, Akira!" Sendoh's mother wrapped her son into a tight hug. "I'm glad you're okay. That thief was dangerous!"

"More like Mrs Tanaka's cacti were dangerous. Besides, Inu-chan was the one who caught the thief." Sendoh shrugged, grinning at the shiba. "You're a hero, Inu-chan!"

 _Woof!_ Inu-chan barked excitedly at the praise, wagging its tail.

"Not too loud, Inu-chan." Mr Sendoh said. "People are sleeping. Mind you, I could use a little more sleep myself."

"Are you sure you'll be okay alone?" Mrs Sendoh asked her son concernedly.

"It's fine, as long as I have Inu-chan with me!" Sendoh nodded. Inu-chan barked once in agreement.

All was well for the remainder of the night.

 _ **to be continued.**_

* * *

 **Author's note: Another Inu-chan chapter, yay! Might not be the best, the intruder part was even off the top of my head. Is this story good enough? It's more like a collection of PWPs, tbh. Hmmmm. Anyway, _please_ review. I want to know if I should continue posting for this fic - is anyone even reading? Heheh. Give Inu-chan some love. He's a cute little shibe. **


End file.
